This math scares me

[Grant Edwards]

In article <mailman.984523936.12653.python-list at python.org>, Steven D. Majewski wrote:

>> I don't know if you can credit Gates with doing anything other
>> than following the pack.  Back when I first started doing
>> software (CP/M 1.7), all language packages for "personal"
>> computers came with both BCD and binary FP math libraries so
>> you could do exact monetary calculations if you wanted.
>
>Exactly what pack do you believe Gates was following ? 
>
>You do know (don't you?) that Bill's BASIC predates not just
>MS-DOS (which microsoft bought from another company) but CP/M
>and just about any other "PC" software (and most of the hardware)
>since the first version was written to run on the Altair computer --
>which was the first microprocessor based personal computer. 

You're right.  I had forgotten about the MITS Altair version
and was thinking of the Apple II and IBM-PC version of MS-BASIC
(I never ran into MS products until the IBM-PC came out).

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